Sucker Punch Intro Logo Breakdown

CG breakdowns have always served as a key source of inspiration for me. This by far, nailed it! Check it out - (the description is in quotes)

"So this is a larger and (sorry) longer breakdown of the intro.

This was an extremely complex shot. You have 3000 frames length, full CG car, Rain, Splashes, Mist. and environmental elements.

I was lucky in the task of being able to develop this whole shot's fx work.

The first part is a cross cut of the many passes of the cars rain covering. This was meshed with Thinkbox Frost. The logo was completely texture driven from a Fusion comp. So I would time out the logo reveal/font type in a B/W comp in Fusion and then take that render and drive particle births based on luminance. This logo technique was an absolute life saver. If the client changed the font in the last min, all i had to do was go into fusion, update font, roto, and noise. render that out, and you have your new logo ready to sim. The car's over all rain covering was driven with Pflow and a lot of tweaks to wind, random walk, and lock bond. This was all cached out to many MANY prts. I used the PRT loader as a composting system. I broke out each layer to its own descriptor, rivulets, drops, stuck drops, and splats. In each PRT loader i was able to, with director notes, either reduce the count of each layer and then pump that into frost for a final meshing. My logo PRT master list was 15 PRT file sequences. The final full car meshing took 45min a frame with the beta version of Frost....now it takes 2 mins to mesh the WHOLE car. Sadly, we couldn't use the latest version because I had already had Director by offs on a lot of the elements. Using a new version of a software, even if its faster, changed the appearance of the trails and those were locked. Damn that sucked haha.

The second part is the many little clips of RnD from when I had JUST started to figure out how the hell i was going to cover a car in rain for 3000 frames from clouds to inches away. It also includes a few RealFlow passes of tire splashes that were added into the shot.

It's one of those year long effects/shot that feels impossible to explain or show all the work of because its just so damn complicated to do so. So I hope I shed a hint of light on the making?

enjoy!,
Mark "

Some Mind Blowing Animated Shorts

Stormbirds 


A short concept produced at RealtimeUK for THQ and Juice Games. A team of 8 artists finished the project in about 3 months time using 3Ds Max, V-Ray, Vue and Afterburn. 




The Backwater Gospel 


This is by far one of the most creepiest horror shorts I have ever seen! It's a 9.5 min animated flick which I think serves a better purpose than most modern horror films out there. It manages to pull you in with it's dark and eerie environments as the residents of the western town descend to madness. 





Eskmo: "We Got More" (Ninja Tune) 


There's really not much to say about this one, apart from this: It's an official video for the tune 'We Got More' directed by Cyriak Harris. Makes for some pretty eye candy this one! 

Address is Approximate [Animated Short] by The Theory

I spent most of today watching animated short films from a channel on Vimeo of the same name. Stumbling upon this one - partly because the thumbnail looked so real I thought someone had done an extremely unbelievable job at CGI - fell in love with this short for very different reasons. Have a look at the video below and have your mind...blown! 

Credits Go to The Theory and Google Street View as highlighted at the starting. 

Biomorph - Nike Flyknit Promo

The work done on the promo for Nike's upcoming shoe was beyond astounding. The creative masters themselves, Digital Domain and Mothership - DD's advertising and entertainment company - have released an insight of what it was like bringing Nike's vision to the screen. 

Director David Rosenbaum compiled a 30-page story with images and concepts to show-off the shoe's attributes. More of this on CGSOCIETY. 

Check out "Biomorph" below. 

CG Bullets in After Effects [Composite]

CG Bullets in After Effects [Composite] from Umar Ansari on Vimeo.

I made these bullets in 3D Studio Max, and rendered them out in separate passes. I personally loved the Reflection pass, it came in so handy with it's almost-unnoticeable HDRI.

Color correction has always played an important role in compositing and in this case the bullets had to undergo a few corrections. Originally they were given a golden/brass diffuse but I preferred a more red-like color. I added a small camera move inside of After Effects to show-off depth. And a camera-lens blur to top it all off - I find that there is some problem with it though, in that there is something wrong with the focus, maybe the order in which the lens focuses is a bit off but feel free to correct me. 

RUIN - Post-Apocalyptic Short by Oddball Animation

Amidst the eternal waves of post-apocalyptic shorts, Oddball Animation was able to produce an astounding 8.5 minute film. Very seldom do you see a short film as well-done as this one. 

RUIN from OddBall Animation on Vimeo.

However, viewers have had their concerns regarding physics during the slow-mo near the end and I myself felt taken aback during the POV shots - irritated the fluidity of the chase - it makes for some inspirational work to say the least. Like they said, "This needs it's own feature." 

The Mill 2012 Showreel.

So 2 days back before going to bed I had to bare an annoying-as-hell fire alarm in my apartment building. It was mind-numbing and irritating. Hence, making me stay up a few extra minutes which wouldn't hurt. In these few minutes I fired up my twitter and spent the rest of my time admiring a vimeo link to The Mill Group's 2012 VFX Showreel. It was pretty sweet considering how many projects they've worked on that I didn't know until now. I'll take one YouTuber's words into account, they really should put the studio's name at the end of these commercials. A lot of work gets put in and the creativity behind-the-scenes is not made known. Fix it! 


But enjoy this nevertheless:

Chronicle, Some Crazy S*** - Rhythm and Hues' VFX

I was never really a fan of found footage sci-fi flicks...okay that's because I haven't seen that many. During my week off I had a chance to watch Chronicle with my brother and a friend of mine. Entering the theater, we were taken aback at the site of numerous empty seats at the theater. This was either because it was a week day (most kids were at school) or the trailer. Granted it wasn't the best trailer ever, nor was it catchy. But it's about SUPERPOWER'S AND INTOXICATED TEENS! We should be all over this, but no, as the dread of other, more fast-paced, half-assed action movies continues to invade silver screens. -don't worry, The Grey is not considered half-assed in my opinion-


If you've seen Chronicle you know it's a movie like no other and sure as hell deserves more attention than it already has. I was totally absorbed into the intensity of the film right from the start. Special thanks to some of the best VFX I have EVER seen and a cast of mega-multi-talented individuals. 


Speaking of Visual Effects, Rhythm and Hues' Raymond Chen kicks it up a notch with his adrenaline-pumping flying sequences. FXGuide covers the story, check it out below:

Red Tails VFX Breakdowns

One of the most action-packed movies of 2012, Red Tails' eye-popping VFX were delivered by ILM and Pixomondo.  

Anthony Hemingway brought George Lucas' tale of Tuskegee Airmen to the big screen in a mind blowing fashion. Of course, when you've been trying to bring a movie to the big screen for almost 25 years, you expect it to be nothing short of epic. Although I can't say much for the movie as a whole (it was lacking but that's NOT the point) I can honestly express my gratitude for the artists behind the scenes. 

Check 'em out below:

Kony 2012 - Stop him!

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.

HOW TO HELP:
Donate to Invisible Children: https://www.stayclassy.org/checkout/donation?eid=14711
Purchase KONY 2012 products: http://invisiblechildrenstore.myshopify.com/
Sign the Pledge: http://www.causes.com/causes/227-invisible-children

For members of the PRESS and celebrity REPRESENTATION ONLY: Monica Vigo pr@invisiblechildren.com

DIRECTOR: Jason Russell LEAD EDITOR: Kathryn Lang EDITORS: Kevin Trout, Jay Salbert, Jesse Eslinger LEAD ANIMATOR: Chad Clendinen ANIMATOR: Jesse Eslinger 3-D MODELING: Victor Soto VISUAL EFFECTS: Chris Hop WRITERS: Jason Russell, Jedidiah Jenkins, Kathryn Lang, Danica Russell, Ben Keesey, Azy Groth PRODUCERS: Kimmy Vandivort, Heather Longerbeam, Chad Clendinen, Noelle Jouglet ORIGINAL SCORES: Joel P. West SOUND MIX: Stephen Grubbs, Mark Friedgen, Smart Post Sound COLOR: Damian Pelphrey, Company 3 CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole, Gavin Kelly, Chad Clendinen, Kevin Trout, Jay Salbert, Shannon Lynch PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Jaime Landsverk LEAD DESIGNER: Tyler Fordham DESIGNERS: Chadwick Gantes, Stephen Witmer

MUSIC CREDIT:

Original Instrumental Scores by Joel P. West http://www.joelpwest.com/

“02 Ghosts I” Performed by Nine Inch Nails, Written by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, Produced by Alan Moulder, Atticus Ross, and Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails appear courtesy of The Null Corporation

“Punching in a Dream”, Performed by The Naked and Famous, Written by Aaron Short, Alisa Xayalith, and Thom Powers, Produced by Thom Powers, The Naked and Famous appear courtesy of Somewhat Damaged and Universal Republic

“Arrival of the Birds”, Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra, Written by The Cinematic Orchestra, Produced by The Cinematic Orchestra, The Cinematic Orchestra appears courtesy of Disney Records

“Roll Away Your Stone”, Performed by Mumford and Sons, Written by Benjamin Lovett, Edward Dwane, Marcus Mumford, and Winston Marshall, Produced by Markus Dravs, Mumford and Sons appear courtesy of Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC

“On (Instrumental)”, Performed by Bloc Party
Written by Bloc Party, Produced by Jacknife Lee, Bloc Party appears courtesy of Vice Records

“A Dream within a Dream”, Performed by The Glitch Mob, The Glitch Mob appears courtesy of Glass Air

“I Can’t Stop”, Performed by Flux Pavilion, Flux Pavilion appears courtesy of Circus Records Limited

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, VFX Breakdown

One of the most critically-acclaimed adaptations ever, backed up with top-notch, mind blowing VFX...what more could you ever want?! :)

"Mindblowing. The best special effects are those you’d never guess are effects."

(RYAN ADAMS)

SideFX Releases Houdini 12

So it's true, the ultra-capable, mega-popular 3D package by SideFX Software now has a 12th successor. Check out the Overview video below to see what this version is capable of: 

Houdini 12 Overview from Go Procedural on Vimeo.

I'll admit, as a self-taught student I've always wanted a license to this because it looks so damn awesome. It's capabilities are so versatile and makes it one of the industry's most reliable tools for dynamic fluid simulations, alongside everything else (modeling etc.) But obviously, it'll take a while for you to wrap your head around if you're a 3Ds Max user like me. So with all my curiosity, I went ahead and downloaded the Apprentice version of Houdini 11 when it came out and it won't work on my 64 bit Win 7 machine. Stubborn thing! 

Moving on I take my concern to Twitter following the release of Houdini 12. I was humbly replied to by SideFX. They're right, I should probably try Houdini 12 Apprentice and see how it works out. Or I'll just have to go to ther forums for support. The point is that Houdini is obviously something I really need...okay something I really want! I just can't wait to get my hands on Pyro Fx - fluids here I come!
, 

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Cinematic

             

         

I must admit, this is one of THE BEST cinematic trailers I have EVER seen. 

Platige Image used their "always-evolving" pipeline with Maya, V-Ray, 3Ds Max, and Motionbuilder, along with some of their own software developed at the studio. (More info over at CGSOCIETY) 

Futuristic Eye in After Effects

Futuristic Eye in After Effects from Umar Ansari on Vimeo.

This is a clip from my new personal demo reel. I composited 2D elements with a live action clip of a moving eye, using After Effects. With the help of a simple, self-written script I was able to achieve the random rotation of the elements inside the eye.

Original Footage 

Finished Composite

Hugo VFX Breakdowns from Pixomondo

Academy Award winning Hugo 3D

"An exclusive interview with Pixomondo’s Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato and Ben Grossmann, discussing the visual effects of Martin Scorsese’s film “Hugo”. Hugo recently won the Oscar for best visual effects." CGTERMINAL

Hugo shot breakdowns by Pixomondo from Rich Frazer on Vimeo.

Rob Legato and Ben Grossmann interviewed on fxguide TV about their work on "Hugo". Includes shot breakdowns from Pixomondo (including several of my shots). 
Content originally from fxguide.com.